OUAT: Mad as a Hatter

Last time on “Once’s” first season: Emma booked Mary Margaret for suspicion regarding Kathryn’s murder. She protested her innocence even as the evidence piled up against her and Regina got involved. Gold apparently also can practice law so Mary Margaret hired him to be her lawyer while Emma set out to prove her friend was framed.

Henry tried to help her but grew moody when he realized everything continued to point to Mary Margaret—especially when a hunting knife was found hidden in her room. August gave him a pep talk, revealing he knew the truth about Storybrooke. Afterwards, Henry found his mother’s skeleton keys and proved that Regina could have gotten in to steal Mary Margaret’s jewelry box and plant the hunting knife.

Proving it, though, was going to be difficult. So she told Mary Margaret to hold on and then went to Gold to get his help. He agreed.

Meanwhile, David went to Dr. Hopper to try to unlock the mystery behind his blackouts. But his Enchanted Forest memories started to bleed through, unfortunately making him believe that Mary Margaret had meant to hurt Kathryn. When he went to talk to her, she sent him away—heartbroken that he wasn’t giving her the same support she had given him.

So where were his memories coming from? From when Snow had taken the potion to forget him—they also took away her ability to love and turned her into a sociopath. She snapped at the dwarfs and then decided to kill Regina, even going to Rumple for help. Charming found her and tried to use True Love’s Kiss but she knocked him out instead. She tied him up and told him that she valued actions over words.

Taking her words to heart, Charming was freed and he jumped in front of the arrow to keep Snow from going dark. She’s surprised by how much he really does love her and True Love’s Kiss worked that time. But their reunion was short-lived as King George’s men hauled Charming away. Snow vowed to find him and got help from the dwarfs, who forgave her for her bad attitude.

After she found a key to her cell earlier, the episode ended with a shot of Mary Margaret’s empty cell.

Uh oh.

Mary Margaret runs through the forest and she stops, leaning against a tree as she tries to catch her breath. She looks determined and pauses only a moment before running again.

(She's determined to win the cross country meet)

Henry stares at a picture of little Snow White as he sits in the Sheriff’s office. Gold and Emma enter and he congratulates his mother on her plan. Gold asks what plan and when Henry clams up, he takes the hint and moves on. Henry apologizes, saying he thought Gold was in on the plan to bust Mary Margaret out of jail. Emma’s like “WHAT?” and runs into the main room.

Sure enough, Mary Margaret’s cell is empty. Gold is like “What the hell?” and both he and Emma realize how bad it is for Mary Margaret. She is just accused of murder but now she is a fugitive. Emma heads out to search for her, determined to find her before her arraignment in the morning. Especially as she’s sure Regina will be there bright and early. She sends Henry home as she climbs into her yellow bug and drives off.

(Emma's on the case)

It’s raining and Emma is looking through the downpour. Suddenly someone emerges from the shadows and she swerves to avoid hitting him. Emma gets out of the car and meets…Sebastian Stan!
He assures her that he’s fine and was just heading up to his house not far away. He asks her why she’s out there and she lies, saying she’s looking for a lost dog. After wishing her luck, he tries to walk away but it’s clear he’s limping. Emma insists she drive him home and he accepts, climbing into the bug.

We next see Sebastian Stan running through the woods, now with long hair (though not his Bucky wig) and wearing a long, worn, burnt orange coat. It flares behind him as he runs and then hides behind a tree. He waits for someone to find him.

That someone? A young girl in a beautiful floral cape. Her name is Grace and she’s his daughter. They hug before they head off to look for truffles. However, that plan changes when they spot the queen’s carriage waiting outside their cottage. Sebastian Stan sends her to hide in the woods and she tells him to be careful.

(She's adorable)

He enters the cottage to find the Queen standing there. She calls him Jefferson and mocks his living conditions. He says he doesn’t do magic if she’s here for that and the Queen says that if he does her a favor, she’ll make sure his daughter will never want for anything again. But magic is the reason he lost Grace’s daugther, so he’s holding fast. The Queen says he knows where to find her if he changes his mind and then leaves.

(Hot damn)

Emma pulls up to a beautiful mansion that almost looks like a hotel. She even comments that it looks like one as she helps Jefferson in. He says it’s just him there though.

(Wow)

Inside, he gives her some tea and tells her that he has a cartography hobby—he makes maps. He says he’s made a map of the forest around Storybrooke. Jefferson shows it to her, saying it might help her find her lost dog. She thinks it will, following the map a bit as she plots her path to find Mary Margaret.

(He just makes maps?)

But then she starts to get woozy and collapses into Jefferson’s arms. He drags her over to the couch and lays her down. She asks him what he did to her as she loses consciousness, Jefferson watching her the entire time.

(Creepy)

We cut back to the Enchanted Forest. Jefferson and Grace are in a busy marketplace. She runs up to a cart laden with toys and picks up a beautiful stuffed white rabbit. Grace pleads for it and Jefferson asks the hag selling it how much. She says a silver piece and he checks how much he has. He asks if she will part with it for a few coppers. She praises what a good father he is but says she can’t part with it for less than a silver piece. Grace says she doesn’t need it and they move on, Jefferson feeling guilty.

(It is a cute bunny)

Clutching the rabbit, the hag turns around as the Genie appears in a mirror asking why she couldn’t just let the little girl have her rabbit. The hag says she needs Jefferson to accept her offer. Yes, the hag is really the queen. She reveals herself briefly before restoring her disguise in order to keep an eye on Jefferson.

(Hag)

(Queen)

Emma comes to and finds that she is bound and gagged. She doesn’t let that deter her, getting out of her bindings easily. She explores the room Jefferson left her in, finding a telescope pointing out a window. Looking into it, she finds that it is trained on the sheriff’s office. Jefferson has been watching her.

(Do I need to make a Stephen King reference again?)

She creeps to the door and opens it. Jefferson is in the room across the way, sharpening a pair of scissors.

Jefferson finishes sewing a patch onto a rabbit he’s made for Grace. He gives it to her and she says she loves it even more than the one at the market. But he still is thinking about her future even as he sips pretend tea. When she notices he’s distracted, he asks her to go next door. He says he has something he has to do. Grace grows concerned, asking if it’s for the queen and begging her father not to do anything with her. He just asks her again to go next door and promises to return home as he puts on her cloak.

Grace goes over to their neighbors as Jefferson watches her. He then opens a trunk and pulls out a hat box. Setting it on the floor, the camera pans over it and lingers on it.

(It's a very ominous hatbox)

In Storybrooke, Emma seizes her chance and creeps down the hallway. But when she hits a creaky floorboard, she has to take cover in another room. There she gets a big surprise—Mary Margaret is tied up to a chair inside it.

(Gasp!)

She hurries to undo her friend’s bindings, asking her what happened. Mary Margaret admitted to running away, saying she found a key in her jail cell that opened the door. So she decided to leave and go on the run. But Jefferson caught her in the woods, knocked her out and then tied her up. She says he’s crazy and Emma’s convinced she’s right. She tells Mary Margaret to stay quiet and that they’ll sneak out.

Emma opens the door and the two creep down the hallway. But Jefferson steps into their path, holding a gun. He says they’re not going anywhere, making Emma tie Mary Margaret back up. She promises her friend that they will get out of there and then she follows Jefferson out. He gives Mary Margaret a look before closing the door behind him.

(Busted)

Regina waits in her palace as Jefferson approaches. She asks him if he’s changed his mind and he asks for her assurances that his daughter’s life will be better if he helps her. She gives it and asks if he brought it. Jefferson sets down the hat box and pulls out a top hat. He asks where she wants to go. She tells him she wants to go to Wonderland and he thinks she’s insane. But he places the hat  on the floor and tells Regina to stand back. It begins to spin until it creates a portal. Jefferson tells her to go ahead and she asks him to jump in with her. They do so, hand-in-hand.

(Geronimo!)

Jefferson takes Emma to a room full of hats. She asks why he took Mary Margaret. He says he had to keep her from crossing the town line and that she knows bad things happen to people who try to do that. Except for her. He says that he was trapped in that house for twenty-eight years, every day the same until Emma showed up. He says that she brought magic with her and she replies that he’s insane. Jefferson counters that she’s the one who seems to be insane as she refuses to believe what’s right in front of her. He tells her to wake up and see what’s really going on before pushing her into a seat, telling her she’s going to make him a hat and get it to work.

Sebastian Stan and Jennifer Morrison started dating around this time, if I remember correctly. And you can see the chemistry and sexual tension oozing between them.

Regina and Jefferson end up in a room full of doors. He explains that they are all portals to other realms and that each door is unique to the world that lays behind it. I think I glimpse Oz’s…Anyway, he brings her to the one she wants to go, which is a mirror. He reminds her that the same amount of people that go through must come out—no more, no less. Them’s the rules, set by the hat. Regina understands and they cross through it.

(Is that how Robin got to Oz?)

They encounter the Caterpillar first. He puffs at his hookah, lying all over his mushroom as he asks that famous question: “Who are you?” He blows smoke at them and Regina waves it away as Jefferson hurries her past the Caterpillar. He says he hates Wonderland. The Caterpillar lounges around as we return to Storybrooke.

(Cause I got high, cause I got high, cause I got high)

Emma glances around the room and puts the pieces together, realizing that Jefferson is the Mad Hatter. Or thinks he is. He finally reveals his name and says that the stories are real. Emma tries to convince him otherwise and he asks her if she learned about the Civil War in school. She replies she did but that the Civil War happened. He says that doesn’t mean the stories in Henry’s book aren’t real and that the problem with this world was that everyone wanted magical solutions but refused to believe in magic. She tries to tell him that this is the only world out there and he tells her that’s very arrogant. He says there are many different worlds out there, all lined up and touching each other.

(Emma needs a drink)

Jefferson goes back to his demands. He tells her to make a hat. She asks him why she needs to make a hat and he replies that it’s because she has magic. He tells her that he won’t let her or Mary Margaret go until she finishes the hat and makes it work. And then he can go home.

(Definitely threatening)

They end up at a maze with red hearts everywhere. Jefferson asks if they are going to see the Queen and Hearts and Regina confirms it, saying the woman isn’t subtle in her decorating. But he’s more concerned about the queen’s reputation and says she’s not one to mess with. But she took something from Regina and she wants it back. She knows how to deal with the queen, she insists.

He then says that they first have to survive the maze, which can be tricky. Especially since when he tosses something at the hedges, the greenery eats it. He starts to warn her but Regina just throws a fireball, creating a clear path straight to the center of the maze.

That’ll work.

They storm straight through to a vault in the middle of the maze. Regina throws open the doors with a flick of her wrist. Inside are several boxes, much like her own collection of hearts. One floats out to her and she takes it, holding it like it holds the most precious thing to her inside of it. She tells Jefferson they can go now.

(What's inside?)

But the guards have been alerted to their presence and start swarm Regina and Jefferson. They race through the maze, trying to dodge the guards. Some are thrown into the hedge to be eaten as they arrive at the start of the maze. Regina uses her magic to close the maze, letting the greenery destroy the rest of the guards. Jefferson tugs Regina and tells her they need to get back to the mirror.

(What a way to go)

As they approach the mirror, Regina stops to grab a piece of mushroom. Jefferson warns her about the food in Wonderland but she’s hoping the stories are true. She places the mushroom in the box and stands back. Purple smoke curls up to reveal her father standing there, smiling at her. Regina rushes forward, hugging her father as Jefferson stands there in amazement.

(Hi, Henry!)

He then realizes something important—there’s now three of them. But the hat has rules. Since two of them entered Wonderland, only two of them could leave. He rails against Regina, saying he promised his daughter that he would come home. She tells him that was his fault. He continues to rage before Regina snaps that he shouldn’t have left Grace. That if he really loved her, he’d still be with her. She and Henry then cross through the mirror, leaving Jefferson behind.

Jefferson stares at the mirror as the queen’s guards come up to him. One advisor in red places his hand on Jefferson’s shoulders and is like, “Tough luck, bro. Time to see another queen, though.”

(All hail the Queen)

The guards haul Jefferson in front of the Queen of Hearts, who wears a red veil over her face and speaks using a tube her advisor listens to. He asks Jefferson what he’s doing in Wonderland. Jefferson replies that the Queen asked him to take her so she could retrieve something. The court reacts and the advisor tells him that the Queen of Hearts is the only queen. So Jefferson adjusts and tells them that Regina tricked him so now he can’t go home to his daughter.

The Queen wants to know how he got there. Jefferson is hysterical at this point and isn’t inclined to tell her. So she orders his head to be cut off. It is and Jefferson is dumbstruck to see his body lying on the floor. He then also realizes that he’s still somewhat alive. The advisor tells him that if he wants his body back, he needs to answer the queen’s question.

(So many head jokes, so little time!)

Desperate, Jefferson tells the Queen of Hearts that he got there using a magical hat. He wants to go home. The advisor tells him that he will make a hat that will take him home. Jefferson’s body is picked up and he is carried out to be put back together.

Emma grows frustrated and throws the hat she’s been trying to make down, telling him it won’t work. She wants to know why he’s so desperate to go home and Jefferson directs her to the telescope, which he has moved slightly. Emma looks through it and sees Grace sitting down to eat with people who appear to be Jefferson’s neighbors from the Enchanted Forest. He tells her that in this world, her name is Paige and she doesn’t remember being his daughter.

(Happy family!)

She turns to him and says she understands. That she hates when she can’t spend time with Henry, that she understands having to give up your kid. And she says that maybe he is right, that maybe she needs to let magic into her life. Maybe she needs to accept who she really is. Jefferson leans in…and then she knocks him out. She was just playing him.

(Hatter Floor? Mad Floor?)

Emma hurries to untie Mary Margaret so they could get out of there. They are almost free when Jefferson storms in, carrying the hat Emma made. He struggles with her and Mary Margaret joins in, kicking him out the window. She and Emma look out, but all they see is the hat—no Jefferson.

Did the hat work?

Mary Margaret and Emma gaze into it as the sun starts to come up. Emma asks what Mary Margaret is going to do. She says everything is stacked against her so it would be better to run. Emma tells her that running isn’t easy. She’ll always be looking over her shoulder and won’t ever feel safe. And Emma knows from experience. But if Mary Margaret stays, Emma can find the proof that she’s being framed and they can save her. Emma is going to fight for her family…friend. She meant friend, she insists.

(Mary Margaret is touched)

Regina pulls into a parking space and notices that Emma’s spot is empty. She enters the sheriff’s office and stops short. Mary Margaret greets her, sitting in her cell and reading a newspaper. Regina backs out and runs into Gold. She asks him what Mary Margaret is doing there and he says that he left the key for her, she ran but she came back. Regina reminds him that he’s going to help her swamp Mary Margaret and he agrees.

(Mary Margaret is judging you)

Emma pays a visit to Henry’s school. She gives him an update about Mary Margaret before a young girl says hi to him. Emma recognizes her and asks Henry about her. He replies that her name is Paige and that they’re in the same class. This gets Emma thinking and she asks Henry if she can see his book. She opens it and finds a picture of the Mad Hatter…it looks just like Jefferson.

We briefly flash back to Wonderland, where Jefferson sits surrounded by hats as he makes another one. All the while, he mutters “Make it work” over and over.

Henry into class, glad his mother is taking an interest in the book. And Emma looks like she might just start believing all these crazy stories.

Ahh, Jefferson. I’ve always been curious about him since I never got to see this episode before. I liked him. He was the right amount of mad for the character. And the chemistry between him and Emma was off the charts! Wow.

So we’ve come to the end of another hiatus. I’ll be putting my rewatch on hold. Now, Adam and Eddy have said that we’re not dealing with two separate arcs this season and Channing Dungey spoke about getting rid of lengthy midseason hiatuses, so I probably won’t resume until next summer. Until then, tune in for my recaps for season 6!

I’m going to put this here since it’ll be more timely: It was announced this week that Sean Maguire will be returning as Robin Hood for a multi-episode arc this season! There will be a separate post regarding this, but rest assured I’m thrilled about this.

Next week: The Land of Untold Stories starts to crash into Storybrooke! Regina deals with her grief! Emma develops a tic! 

Screen caps from here.